Buying a Sharon Hedman painting can feel more like a job application than a standard purchase. The Lompoc-based artist prefers that her prospective patrons meet at least one prerequisite.
“If it doesn’t stir an emotion, make you feel something, don’t buy it, please,” said Hedman, who fears her work becoming “a piece of furniture to toss aside someday.”
“Art does not have to match your couch,” she said. “Art is meant to express a thought or feeling in the person viewing it, like a transfer of joy and peace from me to you.”
One of Hedman’s favorite settings to depict in her paintings is the beach. She hopes that her atmospheric artworks of this variety will make viewers feel as if they’re breathing in an ocean breeze or sinking their toes in the sand.
Many of Hedman’s seaside landscapes are currently on display in a new solo show, Coastal Collection, at the Cypress Gallery in Lompoc. The exhibition is slated to remain open through Sunday, July 24, and a special artist reception will be held on Sunday, July 10, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Hedman’s paintings have previously been showcased at the South Side Coffee Co. in Lompoc and Pardon My French Bakery in Grover Beach, but Coastal Collection marks Hedman’s debut exhibit at the Cypress Gallery.
The artist said she’s been a fan of the gallery since she first moved to Lompoc in 1983, from Lancaster, Calif. After the move, Hedman became a frequent beach visitor. She compared her introduction to the Central Coast to discovering “a whole new world.”
“I had seen the ocean as a child on family vacation, but being able to live near it, and experience it whenever I wanted, well, that was amazing,” Hedman said. “Several years ago, I realized I was enthralled with the sound, colors, power, energy, and peace of the ocean and its elements—seaweed, shells, sand, and driftwood all just fascinated me.”
Hedman’s longtime passion for painting predates her affinity for the ocean. She has loved making art in one form or another for nearly as long as she can remember, which she accredits to growing up in a household that encouraged creativity. Her mother was a musician and quilter, and her father was jewelry maker and business owner.
During kindergarten, Hedman’s favorite activity was finger painting. She gradually switched from using human digits to traditional paint brushes over the years, and won her first art award for a painting she completed during fourth grade.
She continued to paint in her free time and took several art classes during high school. One of her instructors was contemporary artist Doug Oliver, a prolific painter widely known for his panoramic vista landscapes.
Learning about Oliver’s artistic process helped Hedman find a style of her own, while embracing the old adage: learn the rules before you break them.
“I learned the techniques taught, but liked making up my own compositions, mostly from my dreams and imagination,” said Hedman, who described her early paintings as whimsical. “I liked to bring lightheartedness to my paintings.”
Over the years, Hedman found painting to be a great stress reliever. One of the reasons the beach became a prominent subject in her paintings is because that’s where Hedman goes to find sanctuary and serenity when she needs it, the artist explained.
“When a bit of adult life pitfalls started to creep in, I’d take every chance to get away to the ocean, where I could express the emotions I tried to keep inside,” said Hedman, who feels the freedom to shout and cry at Surf Beach and other beaches along the Central Coast when needed.
“My husband died in 2019. That was a very hard time, but having family, friends, a beach to visit, and art really kept me from going down that pit too far,” Hedman said. “I am acutely aware that I have a very blessed life, but I worked hard for it, and it’s not without its mountains and pitfalls along the way.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood needs some beach sand to sink his toes into. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2022.